An Italian author and poet of the early Renaissance era, Giovanni Boccaccio (1313 – December 21, 1375) is known to modern readers as the author of The Decameron and On Famous Women .
Stylistically, Boccaccio stands apart from his contemporaries, for breaking with the tradition of his times, and forsaking the high-mannered, idealistic depictions that were common in the literature of the day. Instead, Boccaccio elected to write with a sense of realism; choosing to write in the common vernacular depicting realistic characters and scenes and having them interact with realistic dialogue.